The Conservative Treehouse has an updated analysis of the Trump FISA Russian collision operation, and the machinations of Stephan Halper et al.

Lengthy, hard to cut and paste with many document quotes.

Link

Reading about the FBI & DOJ corrupt spying on the campaign of President Trump makes me both sad and hopeful. Hopeful because it sounds like there is a possibility that through the efforts of the IG, Mr. Huber, and the House and Senate oversight committees some of the responsible parties may face legal consequences, might lose their jobs and pensions, and may even possibly spend some time in jail. This is a somewhat heartwarming prospect.

Still, I am sad as it truly seems that this treasonous behavior deserves at least hanging by the neck until dead. Boiling in oil or tarring and feathering and then running out of town on a rail might be more appropriate, but sadly would be considered cruel and unusual. The death penalty for treason though, that seems plenty reasonable though. Too bad it ain't gonna happen...

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN's Don Lemon Thursday night that the president's claim that the Obama administration spied on his campaign is "hyperbole" but if it is true, it is a "good thing."

JAMES CLAPPER: Well, I think it's -- this is hyperbole. Hyperbole. They may have had someone who was talking to them in, uh, in the campaign, but, you know, the focus here, and as it was with the intelligence community is not on the campaign, per se, but what the Russians were doing to try to instantiate themselves in the campaign or influence or leverage it.

So if there was someone that was observing that sort of thing, that's a good thing because the Russians posed a threat to the very basis of our political system. And I think it's hugely dangerous if someone like that is exposed because the danger to that person, not to mention, the reluctance of others to be informants for the FBI, and the FBI gains a lot of valuable information from informants, so to me, this is incredible."



https://www.realclearpolitics...._trump_campaign.html


this is incredible

Clapper's statement is so far out, I had to be sure of the definition of hyperbole :

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

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"the focus here is not on the campaign but what the Russians were doing ..." so they spied on the Trump campaign

The evidence is mounting higher and higher

Good grief

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN's Don Lemon Thursday night that the president's claim that the Obama administration spied on his campaign is "hyperbole" but if it is true, it is a "good thing."

JAMES CLAPPER: Well, I think it's -- this is hyperbole. Hyperbole. They may have had someone who was talking to them in, uh, in the campaign, but, you know, the focus here, and as it was with the intelligence community is not on the campaign, per se, but what the Russians were doing to try to instantiate themselves in the campaign or influence or leverage it.

So if there was someone that was observing that sort of thing, that's a good thing because the Russians posed a threat to the very basis of our political system. And I think it's hugely dangerous if someone like that is exposed because the danger to that person, not to mention, the reluctance of others to be informants for the FBI, and the FBI gains a lot of valuable information from informants, so to me, this is incredible."



https://www.realclearpolitics...._trump_campaign.html


this is incredible

So where did this Halper guy get the idea to tell Papadopoulos about the Ruskies having all of HC’s e-mails. I believe he told Page, too. Why did he? To see if they could kick start a legitimate cover?

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
So where did this Halper guy get the idea to tell Papadopoulos about the Ruskies having all of HC’s e-mails.

Hillary deleting the emails wasn't significant But Papadopoulos having them was?

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN's Don Lemon Thursday night that the president's claim that the Obama administration spied on his campaign is "hyperbole" but if it is true, it is a "good thing."

JAMES CLAPPER: Well, I think it's -- this is hyperbole. Hyperbole. They may have had someone who was talking to them in, uh, in the campaign, but, you know, the focus here, and as it was with the intelligence community is not on the campaign, per se, but what the Russians were doing to try to instantiate themselves in the campaign or influence or leverage it.

So if there was someone that was observing that sort of thing, that's a good thing because the Russians posed a threat to the very basis of our political system. And I think it's hugely dangerous if someone like that is exposed because the danger to that person, not to mention, the reluctance of others to be informants for the FBI, and the FBI gains a lot of valuable information from informants, so to me, this is incredible."



https://www.realclearpolitics...._trump_campaign.html


this is incredible

Clapper's statement is so far out, I had to be sure of the definition of hyperbole :

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"the focus here is not on the campaign but what the Russians were doing ..." so they spied on the Trump campaign

The evidence is mounting higher and higher

Clapper has never been credible, and this comment only makes him less so.

gee, do you think Nunes is "on target" w his questions ?


From Sen Mark Warner (the DEM who seems to actually run the Senate Intelligence Comm)




it feels like this whole thing is in a pressure cooker about to explode

Clapper and Warner are pretty close to outright admitting the FBI spied on the Trump campaign

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
gee, do you think Nunes is "on target" w his questions ?


From Sen Mark Warner (the DEM who seems to actually run the Senate Intelligence Comm)




it feels like this whole thing is in a pressure cooker about to explode

Clapper and Warner are pretty close to outright admitting the FBI spied on the Trump campaign

It’s ok for WaPo, NYT, the fake news outfits to know and discuss these things, but not members of Congress.

Moreover, if there is a genuine issue, with respect to this particular agent’s identity, let’s see it and have it vouched for.

Otherwise you little boys have cried “wolf” too many times.

Congressman Issa pointed out the other morning that the only security classification higher than Top Secret is “Embarrassing.”

the conspiracy is going all out right now.

They are trying to recover from the info that there was an FBI spy trying to infiltrate the Trump campaign.

It is getting easy to spot their game plan now.

Here is a NYT article

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/0...a-investigation.html

it says

President Trump accused the F.B.I. on Friday, without evidence, of sending a spy to secretly infiltrate his 2016 campaign “for political purposes” even before the bureau had any inkling of the “phony Russia hoax.”

In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign.

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the article talks about Page and Papadopoulos, but it fails to mention that the spy also offered Sam Clovis "help" on the campaign.

The spy did try to infiltrate the campaign, but Clovis didn't bite. NYT tries to deceive once again.

reminder: back on page 154 there is documentation that Stefan Halper got $282k from DoD on 27 Sep 2016. another one of those "coincidences"

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talk about coincidences

from a 2007 book "The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House"

He later got a second payment of over $127k.

Another lengthy article by Andrew McCarthy in National Review comparing the tales of two investigations.

In Politicized Justice, Desperate Times Call for Disparate Measures

“FBI director Comey and the Obama Justice Department applied a double standard in their handling of the Clinton-email and Trump–Russia investigations.”

The rest of the story here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JALLEN,

more media mocking President Trump

but I think this time President Trump is holding a very powerful hand

https://www.nbcnews.com/politi...esident-says-n875516

President Donald Trump's allegation that the Department of Justice put a "spy" inside his presidential campaign to frame him is being widely dismissed as absurd by current and former law enforcement officials.

But it would not be absurd to think the FBI might have sent informants to speak to suspects in their counterintelligence investigation into whether anyone in the Trump orbit was working with Russia to interfere in the presidential election. In fact, it would have been accepted procedure for the FBI.

"The notion of fully embedded government operatives inside a campaign is hard to imagine under these circumstances," said Frank Figliuzzi, a former head of FBI counterintelligence and an NBC News national security analyst.

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so Mr Figliuzzi, what about the reports that Stefan Halper offered to "help" the campaign.

Wash Post:

In late August 2016, the professor reached out to Clovis, asking if they could meet somewhere in the Washington area, according to Clovis’s attorney, Victoria Toensing.

“ He said he wanted to be helpful to the campaign” and lend the Trump team his foreign-policy experience , Toensing said.

Clovis, an Iowa political figure and former Air Force officer, met the source and chatted briefly with him over coffee, on either Aug. 31 or Sept. 1, at a hotel cafe in Crystal City, she said. Most of the discussion involved him asking Clovis his views on China.

“It was two academics discussing China,” Toensing said. “Russia never came up.”

The professor asked Clovis if they could meet again, but Clovis was too busy with the campaign. After the election, the professor sent him a note of congratulations, Toensing said.

Clovis did not view the interactions as suspicious at the time, Toensing said, but now is unsettled that the professor never mentioned his contacts with other Trump aides.

*************

note Clovis' attorney: Victoria Toensing

wife of Joe DiGenova

****************

and behind all of this, Peter Strzok is still employed by the FBI. Who is interviewing him ?

Horowitz ?
Huber ?
Wray ?

This is all so ridiculous. People in the FBI and DoJ know exactly what happened and they are letting the NYT, Wash Post, NBC, ... run wild with stories that are almost certainly untrue.

Time to shine the big light DoJ.

has Clapper ever once opened his mouth and NOT told a lie?

Hope you guys aren't tired of the winning. Iran deal scrapped, North Korea at the table, standing by Israel, Mueller investigation winding down, lower taxes, portions of ObamaCare rolled back, ISIS leaders captured, US citizens returned from North Korea, economy in a roll. Speaking of economy, how about this gem? Looks like another win for Trump, America, and the American worker!

US, China tentatively agree on ending American trade deficit: White House

Joseph Weber
Fox News

United States and China officials have agreed this weekend to take steps to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, the White House said Saturday.

The agreement between the world's two biggest economies was made this week in Washington by high-level negotiators from both countries, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

“There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China,” the White House said, in what it described as a joint statement with China.

The White House also said China would “significantly increase purchases” of U.S. goods and services to help America’s economic growth and to meet its own growing consumption needs, in an apparent effort to avoid an international trade war.

Among the primary focuses of the consensus: an agreement to expand trade in manufactured goods and services, increase U.S. agriculture and energy exports, and protect both countries’ intellectual property laws.

The White House also said next steps would include the U.S. sending a team to China to work out the details.

President Trump has since his 2016 presidential campaign vowed to improve international trade relationships, including the one with China that last year resulted in a $337 billion trade deficit with the country.

Trump on Friday called the deal "bad for our country” and said, “We're changing it around."

After the White House announcement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested the agreement falls short on protecting America’s intellectual property.

“The key to a strong agreement is protecting our intellectual property here in America and stopping the Chinese from keeping out our best goods until we hand over our trade secrets,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. “The joint statement has nothing specific on those fronts.”

China recently appears to be sending signals about trying to avoid a trade war.

Beijing has dropped an anti-dumping investigation into imported U.S. sorghum, which it had accused the U.S. of unfairly subsidizing. It has also given approval for a U.S. private equity firm to buy Toshiba's memory chip business.

"China has come to trade," Larry Kudlow, the top White House economic adviser, told reporters. "They are meeting many of our demands. No deal yet, to be sure, and it's probably going to take a while -- it's a process."

China's Commerce Ministry said Friday that it was ending its inquiry into whether the U.S. was dumping sorghum in the Chinese market at artificially low prices, saying the investigation was not in the public interest. A day earlier, Beijing cleared the way for a group led by the U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital to buy Toshiba's computer memory chip business.

The moves signaled at least a willingness by Beijing to work toward a deal with Washington.

"I think China is willing to make concessions," said Wang Tao, chief China economist at UBS. "The Chinese stance has been very clear -- that China wants to mute any trade dispute. But of course it doesn't mean China would heed to all the demands the U.S. would place."

A White House official said China had offered to work to cut its trade deficit with the U.S. by $200 billion, while stressing that any details remained unclear. But China's Foreign Ministry denied that any such offer had been made.

The Commerce Ministry said it was ending the anti-dumping probe and a parallel anti-subsidy investigation because they would have raised costs for Chinese consumers.

The U.S. is China's biggest supplier of sorghum, accounting for more than 90 percent of its total imports. China's investigation, launched in February, had come as a warning shot to American farmers, many of whom support the Trump administration yet depend heavily on trade. They feared they would lose their largest export market for the crop, which is used primarily for animal feed and liquor.

"Anti-dumping and countervailing measures against imported sorghum originating in the United States would affect the cost of living of a majority of consumers and would not be in the public interest," according to a notice posted on China's Commerce Ministry website.

The ministry said it had received many reports that the investigation would result in higher costs for the livestock industry, adding that many domestic pig farmers were facing hardship because of declining pork prices.

China's U.S. sorghum imports surged from 317,000 metric tons in 2013 to 4.76 million tons last year. Prices fell by about a third over the same period.

The ministry said any deposits for the preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of 178.6 percent, which took effect on April 18, would be returned in full.

The announcement came after Trump met at the White House with Vice Premier Liu He, the leader of China's delegation for talks with a U.S. team, which also includes Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Square Deal (TR), New Deal (FDR), Fair Deal (HST), now the Big Deal (DJT)

Glenn Greenwald is a liberal journalist. Nevertheless he has written a long article making fun of the Intelligence Community for claiming that the outing of the “informant” would imperil national security.

Link

NY Post blows the lid off

https://nypost.com/2018/05/19/...side-trump-campaign/

Multiple media outlets have named Stefan Halper, 73, as the secret informant who met with Trump campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos starting in the summer of 2016

The revelation, stemming from recent reports in which FBI sources admitted sending an agent to snoop on the Trump camp, heightens suspicions that the FBI was seeking to entrap Trump campaign aides. Papodopoulous has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, while Page was the subject of a federal surveillance warrant.

The Halper revelation also shows the Obama administration’s FBI began prying into the opposing party’s presidential nominee earlier than it previously admitted.

Halper’s sit-downs with Page reportedly started in early July 2016, undermining fired FBI Director James Comey’s previous claim that the bureau’s investigation into the Trump campaign began at the end of that month.

Halper made his first overture when he met with Page at a British symposium. The two remained in regular contact for more than a year, meeting at Halper’s Virginia farm and in Washington, DC, as well as exchanging emails.

another coincidence - Halper stopped communicating w Carter Page right after the last FISA warrant timed out

The professor met with Trump campaign co-chair Sam Clovis in late August, offering his services as a foreign-policy adviser , The Washington Post reported Friday, without naming the academic.

Clovis did not see the conversation as suspicious, his attorney told the paper — but is now “unsettled” that “the professor” never mentioned he’d struck up a relationship with Page.

“George, you know about hacking the e-mails from Russia, right?” the professor pressed Papadopoulos when they met, according to reports — a reference to Trump’s campaign-trail riffs about Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server.

Sources close to Papadopoulos told NBC News that he now believes Halper was working for an intelligence agency

Highly detailed descriptions of the FBI informant in Friday reports in The New York Times and Washington Post pegged Halper in all but name. Outlets including NBC and Fox News subsequently connected the dots. The revelation confirms a March report in the Daily Caller that outlined Halper’s repeated meetings with Papadopoulos and Page.

The Department of Defense’s Office of Net Assessment — a shadowy think tank that reports directly to the secretary of defense — paid Halper $282,000 in 2016 and $129,000 in 2017.

Halper has close personal and professional ties to the CIA reaching back decades. He is the son-in-law of a former deputy director of the agency and worked on the 1980 presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush, who had served as CIA director.

When Bush became Ronald Reagan’s running mate, Halper was implicated in a spying scandal in which CIA officials gave inside information on the Carter administration to the GOP campaign.

Ome by one the pieces fall. Id guess the timing of all this plays out right up to midterms then the fun beguns. Pretty stoked.